Wright State was projected to finish eighth out of 11 teams in a vote of the coaches, and no Raider received preseason all-league recognition.
“It can fire you up if you don’t see your name on there or don’t see your team as high as you want it to be. It can give you more reason to play harder and make a name for yourself,” the fifth-year coach said.
“Really, everyone voted with last year in mind, which is the only knowledge any of us have. You kind of know what everybody brought in, but none of that is proven yet.”
Defending regular-season and tourney champ Green Bay was picked first, followed by Robert Morris, Youngstown State and Cleveland State.
The Raiders finished in a tie for eighth last season but were fourth in 2023-24.
“There’s so many new faces in the league. All the teams are going to look a lot different,” Hoffman said.
Like the men, HL women’s teams are being raided by major conference schools.
“A couple teams in our league lost some of their best players to those P-4 conferences. That is definitely happening,” she said.
“It’s hard to tell those young ladies (to do) anything different when they’re getting some unbelievable offers to go big time.”
The Raiders will have two closed scrimmages: Oct. 17 at Dayton and Oct. 23 at home against Cedarville.
The first game is Nov. 3 at Butler.
“We’re improving weekly. That’s what you want to see this time of year. I think they’re more than ready to play another team at this moment,” Hoffman said.
Wright State just started its fall break, and Hoffman sent her players home for a long weekend.
“This time of year, it’s kind of crazy (to do that), but I think it comes at a good time where players need a little mental and physical break and can come back next week healthy in all aspects,” she said.
Wright State will host a kickoff event for the men and women for the first time with Raider Madness at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Nutter Center.
The event is free and open to the public.
“I love that they’re doing these things now to promote our teams and players. And, hopefully, it’ll get more and more people excited for the season and get fans in the stands.”
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